Once Upon a Time
by Hello Mello
Summary: Life isn’t a fairytale and they all knew that. But when old feelings start to fade while new emotions bud, what are Sharpay, Troy, and Ryan to do? TRYAN!SLASH and slight TROYPAY. Ch.2 Troy's POV
1. Sharpay

Title: Once Upon a Time

Disclaimer: yes, I bought out Disney and now own all of it. Soon, in HSM3, Troy and Ryan will have hot and steamy S-E-X scenes that slash lovers will go gaga over. It's true I swear!

Summary: Life isn't a fairytale and she knew that sooner or later, their ending would come. She just didn't realize it would be this soon. TRYAN!SLASH

Author's Notes: This has been written a long time ago but I only had the guts to post it now. This is my first HSM fic and I'm still a bit iffy about it. Comments and constructive criticisms are very much welcome. As are flames, if you feel like I should die a horrible death for writing this story. Just have justifications for your ACTIONS okay? That will be all.

Dulcissime

Totam tibi subdo me

(Sweetest One,

I give myself totally to you)

-Carmina Burana

I suppose I should have known about the affair from the beginning.

After all, the clues were all there: he would smile that soft smile I rarely saw after our marriage, he would hum a song to himself when he thought I was out of earshot. It was all there for the entire world to see.

But I suppose it is true when they said that love is blind. Because I turned a blind eye to all of these. Ignored the smile I fell in love with then but now not meant for me, pretend I never heard the love songs he sang whenever he thought I was not around.

The early years of our marriage had been happy enough. No, more than happy, it was jovial and full of love and a wonderful sense of something far greater than our very being.

We had so many things to figure out like "which side of the bed to sleep on", "what time to go to bed at night", that everyday was an adventure. The newness of everything made our love all the better.

We were so content to be with each other that being in the others presence was happiness enough.

But I guess that happiness never lasts

I guess it had been about three years into our marriage that the love he had started to fade, wear off. The sweet confessions of love and the daily things we used to do together now seemed more like a requirement than an overflow of affection. They were forced and shallow. He did things because he felt he had to and not because he wanted to.

But I just chalked it up to Troy being his usual super nice guy.

After all, what did it matter if he never asked me anymore how my day was or if he never kissed me goodbye anymore before he leaves for work? I knew he loved me and I just have to stop being so clingy. After all, he said he didn't like it in high school that I was way too dramatic.

But the less I expected him to give me signs of his affection, the less it was given, not the other way around. I would barely get a smile from him and I am left to wonder if the times where he would whisper sweet nothings into my ear were just a figment of my wild and dramatic imagination rather than the reality I once had.

I guess it was just my luck –be it good or bad, you decide, that I found out what was truly happening.

It was after dinner and I was loading the dishwasher –an Evans would never stoop as low as to wash dishes- when I heard his cell phone ring. He dropped it on the way to the living room to watch the March Madness Basketball Games.

For some reason, I knew that this it, the cause of our falling out. Whoever is the person who is calling is the one that is taking Troy, my Troy, away from me. And no one takes anything that belongs to an Evans.

I let the answering machine take the call before I gave it to Troy and told him that he had a missed call. He gave me a curt thanks before taking up the call.

Later that night, while he was sleeping on the other side of the king sized bed, his back turned away from me, I grabbed his cell phone, dialed his voicemail and listened to the message that said, 'Hey Troy it's me. I had fun at lunch today. Let's do it again soon, okay? Say, next Thursday at the café across your work? Well, call me. Toodles.'

Toodles?

What was that, an inside joke between the two of them? I only know one person who says toodles and she has not said that abominable word seven years.

The day after the call, Troy had seemed more alive than I have ever seen him. He even gave a smile during breakfast and a goodbye kiss before he left.

All of this happened when I had gathered enough courage and was about to ask him about our relationship. It was like he knew what I was thinking and he sought to make amends and make everything better again. He had acted like the man that I loved and married. He was affectionate and caring and everything that made me fall in love with him. He would stop by the floral shop and get me flowers on the way home to work, commenting that that the golden petals reminded him of my hair and the blue ones reminded him of my eyes with the crooked grin that was his trademark look in high school.

By this time, we had been married for five years. We had discussed having kids many times but it always seemed that it's not yet the right time for one reason or another. Either we were just newly married and must first adjust to living together, or we had just bought a house and we needed more time fixing it than taking care of a child or that we needed to be more financially secure because we couldn't keep mooching off of the Evans Family Fund. Each of them were reasonable excuses in their own right, but putting them all together made me think about the darker undertones of our relationship.

But a part of me still did not want to question it.

And it may sound stupid, but I just trusted him so much that I ignored all the signs and accepted whatever he did at face value. After all, this is my husband, this is Troy, and he would never do anything that would ultimately hurt me. He would never. He would not.

With that decided I continued on with my life for about a week until I remembered the message on the phone on Wednesday night and couldn't get it out of my head. I felt like I just had to go and find out who this person is.

On Thursday noon, I left our house and went to the café across from Troy's work as was said in the message.

And I saw Troy, sitting in a booth, turning to speak to the waiter who held in his hand a notepad. He didn't notice me yet. As I quickened my steps in his direction to once and for all confront him –and the other person- about our situation, and oh-god-I-hope-not, his infidelity when I saw who his company was at the table.

I slowed down my pace and eventually stopped as I saw the expression on Troy's face. There, sitting in the booth was the man that I adored in high school, the man that I married, the man that I was no longer able to bring out.

My heart pounded painfully against my chest, I felt short of breath, and a cold feeling enveloped my gut. Almost against my will, I moved forward, my eyes seeking the identity of the person who was so easily succeeding where all my efforts had failed.

I knew I couldn't pretend that I was fine with everything anymore.

I have to know who it is.

As my gaze fell on the other person, my hear shattered into a million pieces and my lungs seemed to collapse. I couldn't breathe, couldn't talk.

It was my twin brother.

It was Ryan.

Blonde hair and bright blue eyes turned to Troy with a lopsided grin as my husband said something I couldn't hear. Ryan laughed and rested his hand on Troy's arm while Troy placed his on top of Ryan's, and although the gesture itself was innocent enough, I knew better. I remembered from a long time ago that Ryan used to have a crush on Troy but took no action in it upon learning my feelings for the Eat High Basketball star.

So I did the only thing I knew how to do. I turned away and walked out of the restaurant so fast and into my car without a second to spare. Turning on the engine, I held the tears threatening to fall and blur my vision while starting my drive back to the house.

House, not home.

It would never be a home anymore. Not after knowing the true feelings of the one person that made it home for me. Not after seeing the two most important people in my life like that. No, nothing would ever be the same again.

I parked my car in the drive way and grabbed the house keys hurriedly before someone sees me in such a state of wreck. Eyes blurred with the tears I couldn't hold back any longer, I stumbled through the hall and to the bedroom. Dropping onto the bed, I pulled my pillow tightly against my chest.

Alone with my broken heart, I wept.

_Le Fin?_

_Continued A/N: Tell me what you think and review. I am currently at way with myself because I can't make up my mind whether to put the sequel as another chapter or another story. Any tips out there?_


	2. Troy

Author's Notes: Okay, this isn't my favorite chapter partly because I think it' too short and I know plenty of people love their stories long. And I was going to write more if not for the fact that I just love the last line in this chapter and I couldn't bear to part with anything else. But don't be mad, Ryan's view in all of these and the further continuation of their lives will be up soon. I'm aiming for Tuesday because I have classes all day Monday in Uni and but expect it no later than Thursday. I usually do my writings on weekends and post them randomly so they may seem a smidge erratic. Anyway, enough babbles, let's get on with it.

Wait, wait, I still have to thanks to lm2k6 and Charlz for reviewing the first chapter. It was so great of you to review! Mucho thanks!

That's it…I think…:3

Part Two: Troy

We got married right after we got out of college. We felt that it was a good a time as any, considering the fact it was practically pre-ordained that we be together for the rest of our lives.

Everybody we knew was happy that we finally decided to tie the knot. They all believed that the two of us were star-crossed lovers, a Romeo and Juliet, without the bloodshed and all that.

During the whole wedding planning event, Sharpay had asked her 'closest BFF' Kelsi to be her maid of honor and Gabriella, Taylor, and a couple more of her and my cousins to be the bridesmaid. Unbeknownst to everyone but my fiancé, Chad was not the first person that I approached to be my best man.

My first choice was Ryan Evans, my fiancé's brother and the person that I had gotten close to the most (even more than Sharpay) during our years at Uni. But when I asked him to be my best man, he only looked at me with such a sad expression on his face and politely declined. He claimed that he was honored to be offered such a thing but that he could not and would not be the best man.

I didn't know what to feel after that. The fact that the one person that I felt I was the closest to, the one person I trusted with all my secret and probably with my life refused to be an important player in what should be the most important day in my life.

I was shocked and a little more than blind with rage. I remember I yelled at Sharpay and practically told her that I didn't want Ryan to be in the wedding anymore. This was probably the only time I ever yelled at her and we had a full blown yelling match. Needless to say, Ryan attended the wedding as a mere viewer and not part of the procession. And Chad replaced Ryan as my best friend yet again.

I didn't talk to Ryan for years afterward.

Ryan never visited us in our new house and only talked to my wife via the phone.

Our marriage was good enough, I suppose. It had lasted five years, although the last two had been more of charade than a real marriage. We had both tried our best, but it wasn't enough. Sometimes all the love in the world isn't enough.

The things that we used to do together as a means to show our love for each other now seemed more like a burden than anything else. I felt pressure from all sides to be the perfect husband. Any slip up might cause some sort of disturbance that leaves Sharpay hurt and vulnerable again.

This was around the time that I couldn't take it anymore and I called up Ryan to talk to and say hi. Even though we hadn't spoken in years, he was still the only person that I could talk to about such intimate things without feeling stupid or girly or just plain gay, no offense to Ryan who came out at the end of our senior year.

I asked him if I could come over his place to talk and he said yes, no questions asked as if it was perfectly normal for me to just ring him up and tell him I need a person to vent out all of my frustrations in.

When I got to his apartment, I rang the intercom and he invited me in. He looked normal enough, wearing a plain white shirt and shorts, his hair in an unusual state of unkempt with a goofy grin on his face.

Sitting on the couch in his apartment, he had listened while I talked his ears off. He'd listened to me describe how hard I had tried. He listened and offered emphatic hugs and sympathetic smiles. He listened as I unloaded everything and for the first time in along while, I felt as if the weight of the world was somehow lifted. He listened.

After the whole fiasco, he and I had gotten to renew our friendship. I met up with him during lunch every now and then (okay maybe three or four times a week) and just talked about everything and nothing. And no sooner had this happened that it seemed that the highlight of my weeks were the lunches that I spend with the male Evans.

But this made me feel guilty towards Sharpay whom I felt I had been taking for granted for a while now. And so I sought to correct this mistake by making a conscious decision that I will be the most loving husband yet and take care of her every whim. This seemed to appease her and my life was wonderful again. I had my best friend back, my wife was happy and I was finally content.

But good things never last and after a while, Ryan started acting weird towards me again. He began to decline our lunch meetings (I wouldn't call them dates, because for goodness sakes I'm married) more frequently and it would take him days to reply to my messages. This happened during the beginning of my fifth year of marriage with his sister.

When I confronted Ryan with his actions and demanded an explanation, he apologized to me and said that it was best I didn't know. It was just like the episode before the wedding and this time, I was way too confused to just set it aside.

When I begged him to please, please explain to me why he was acting up again in not the most polite tone, he looked at me sadly and said he didn't want me to hate him.

I laughed at him and clearly remember saying, "Well you're not doing a very good job not making me hate you by doing this."

He looked so sad and I felt something in my heart stir. When he finally confessed to me that he had actually liked me ever since the Twinkle Town Musical in junior year of high school, I was overwhelmed with a barrage of emotions.

I quickly left his building, hell bent on ignoring the cries of my name and an order for me to stop and let him explain.

Like when he declined to be my best man, I didn't talk to Ryan for weeks on end, and instead opted to spend every waking moment with my wife. It was during one of our fights that we both realized that this was the end of the road for us. We had changed; we weren't so compatible with each other any longer. We were so different now than when we were younger and we both felt that it was time for us to move on…without each other in tow.

She yelled at me for never spending anytime with her, for not loving her as much as she loved me, for breaking her heart, for being too attached to Ryan. I stood there and accepted all he accusations, all the screaming and the yelling and the broken plates and the slaps on the face. She yelled at me and finally revealed her ace in the hole, she saw Ryan and I during one of lunches and she said that I was a completely different person. She said I was like my old self and not the miserable bat I had become when we got married.

When I left the house after that argument, I didn't know what to do or feel or think. The only thing that kept running across my mind was: I wonder what Ryan is doing right now. And although it may sound a bit off, somehow, I wasn't surprised that it was him I was thinking abut.

For the past weeks when I've been ignoring him, I contemplated on our relationship. He claimed that he loved me and made no move because he knew I was straight and that Sharpay was madly in love with me. And Ryan is not one to turn against another Evans, much less his beloved older sister whom he adored with all his heart. No, Ryan would rather swallow cyanide and stick dull pin needles in his eyes instead of hurt his sister.

Somehow, this made me respect him more.

I never would have thought he'd be the one I'd turn to in my time of need. Thinking about it, though, I supposed it made sense. He wouldn't blame me for failing; he would offer comfort as he had so many times in the past. He would be the best friend he knew how to be.

He was there as I decided what to do next. I knew I would have to move on with my life sometime; I just hadn't expected wanting to take him with me when I did.

_To be continued._

_Further A/N: So… what did you guys think? It was too short, wasn't it? But see, see, don't you just love that last bit right there about Troy's realization? I think its pure gold, but then again, I'm biased on the subject so my opinion doesn't count. I think Ryan's view will be the last one and then this story will be finished so I can focus on The Sun Warms Everything. That series will be a doozy to write and I'm so excited and I just can't hide it. Anyway, tell me what you think…_


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